The Birth of a Selkie
by FireflyEmbers
Summary: The story of a fisherman's daughter, a prince, and the very first Selkie.


(( Just a one shot. Ties into the world of A Fairy Tale's Princess. ))

"Once upon a time, far north upon the rocky shores, there lived a fisherman and his daughter. His daughter was beautiful, with wind-tousled blonde hair and eyes the color of the sea during a storm. That beauty, however, was tempered by clothes that were always threadbare and hands that were always calloused from mending her father's nets. She wasn't unhappy, however. She had the father and the sea, and she had her prince.

She would see the prince riding along the rocky shores, watching him as his fancy horse picked its way over the wave-worn pebbles. Sometimes she would climb high among the cliffs to trace his progress all the way back to the gates of his hill-top castle with its tall twisting spires and its glistening flags. The wind would whip her hair out behind her and she would lean against the sun-warmed rocks and dream of the prince. Surely, one day he would chance upon her, or she upon him, and he would see the truth and the strength of the feelings in her heart, and return them. Surely they were meant to be together, for she had thought of no one else, seen appeal in no other face, but his.

Then, one day, the prince's engagement was announced. The fisherman's daughter was heartbroken. Her father could do little to console her, and so she walked among the waves, letting them lap against her toes. Their frigid touches soothed her, and the soft sounds of their carressing of the shore seemed to whisper to her.

Go to him, the sea told her. Tell him of your feelings. Then, once you have, return to me, for I will always be here.

She listened to the sea and the cawing of the gulls, who seemed only to support what the sea was whispering to her, and felt the strength of resolve bolster her heart. When she returned to her home, she told her father of her plan. He wept, and embraced her, and gave her all the copper pieces they had left as well as his blessing.

So she left early the next day, donning her best outfit, tying a ribbon in her hair, and slipping shoes onto her leather-skinned feet. It took her most of the day to walk to the castle, but the time seemed to fly around her. All she could think about was her prince, and how he would look upon her and know that she was meant for him, and he for her. There was no doubt to weigh her heart down, and it flew above the clouds to dance with the sunbeams.

The castle was abustle with preparations, for it had come alive upon word that its only heir was to be married, and there was a feeling of celebration amongst all who walked the smooth cobbled streets. The fisherman's daughter wasn't deterred by ribbons or fine silk, exotic spices or rare delicacies that the peddlers offered her. Her eyes were on the tallest tower of the soaring castle, and her feet carried her quickly along the roads towards her destination.

It was in the garden of the castle that she found her prince, sitting among the trees and reading a long parchment. She paused in the doorway, then approached him, the sea's strength rushing through her veins.

He looked upon her, and for a moment thought her a vision of his fantasies, the sea walking among the land-dwellers. Then she knelt at his feet and grasped his hands, and he saw the patches in her dress and felt the roughness of her hands and was repulsed. Even though her voice was fair and sweet, he heard none of the love pouring from her.

"I do not love you," he said, and rose to move himself from her grasp.

Tears welled up in her storm-grey eyes. "Please," she whispered. "Do not be deceived by my clothing."

Still he turned away from her, refused to even look upon her. But still, a third time she beseeched him, eyes shining with tears. Finally, he faced her, and, in a fit of anger, flung his hand towards the cliffs outside of the castle.

"If you love me so, then prove it. Throw yourself into the ocean and I will believe you!"

She gazed upon his face and in that instant he regretted the words that had left his mouth. "If that is your wish," she said in a voice like the waves crashing upon the shore. The prince watched her, not believing the truth of her words. Surely, he thought, she would pause, think better of her "love", then return to her home.

But the fisherman's daughter neither hesitated nor veered from her path. Her feet led her surely towards the cliffs, and there she paused. She could feel the sea beneath her, reassuring her. Closing her eyes, she listened to her heart beating in time with the waves, then leaned forward. The prince cried out for her, but she slipped beyond his reach and into the waves. The icy waves closed around her, and she sank into the ocean's embrace.

Dimly overhead she could see the rippling surface, but then it too faded from her sight, replaced by the darkness of the depths of the water around her.

The fisherman's daughter was no longer alone, however. From the darkness around her came flitting seals, their dark eyes bright with curiosity. What a strange creature, they thought. What a strange, strange thing to do. They drew close to her, and exhaled, blowing bubbles into her face. Round and round they twirled, some ascending into the darkness stretching above her, but always mouths drawn close to hers, parting to emit the life-giving air against her own.

The sea embraced her, pulled her deeper, and the deeper she went, the more the sea changed her. Her skin became deep grey, as deep as the seals that twined around her, and her hands became flippers. Feet melded together, then flared, becoming a tail. The water that surrounded her became a playground, freedom, as she'd always considered it. Together, with the sea's children, she rose to the surface, inhaled the crisp air, then turned and dove deeply into her new home. There, in the secret places that no human could ever reach, she found a home, a family, and peace.

Since then, the sea has always hidden its children, its Selkies. But there is no Selkie who does not still remember the lost love that drove them into the sea in the first place, the heart they left on the rocky shore. Curious young Selkies, feeling the draw of the land, will still watch humans, each unable to help but dream of the prince or princess the land holds ransom. They drive fish into their nets, bring them gifts from the depths of the sea, watch them. Some even return to the shore, leaving their skin in the safety of the waves, and seek the love that they were denied.

No matter how pure, how intense that love, however, all Selkies remember the betrayal, their birth right, and all return to the crashing waves before too long. The sea is their home now, the one lover that never rejected them. So no love with a Selkie will ever be lasting; no human can compete with the soft whisper of the waves on the shore; no human could ever be as true as the water that nourishes the lands.

But all Selkies remember, and all Selkies dream, and there are moments, however fleeting, when the fisherman's daughter finds her prince, and the love she so desperately desired."


End file.
